The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has spoken out against the broadcasted beheading of an American journalist by a British member of the Islamic State.
Cameron called the beheading both “shocking and depraved” as he cut short his holiday to return and hold meetings on Syria, Iraq and the IS.
James Foley was a revered war journalist, and had been missing for nearly two years when the video was published. The British Government are acutely aware of a huge number of British nationals who have left the UK to fight for the IS, presumably rounded up in the county’s mosques. The fact that this video has come to light, merely serves to publicise the problem which the Government say it has been working on for “many months.”
400 UK Fighters
Current estimates say that around 400 recruits have joined up with IS directly from Britain, and they have been instrumental in the insurgencies across Syria and northern Iraq, as well as carrying out atrocities such as the one on Foley.
Back in the UK, 69 people have now been arrested on suspicion of jihadist activities, further igniting the calls from certain circles for action in Iraq due to the imminent danger the IS represents to Britain’s streets.
If the Islamic State are pushed back, it is thought that the majority of its activists would return to their home countries, although their plan is to take Iraq and gradually move outwards from there.
Vicious
Those British fighters ion the front line are said to be some of the most vicious out there, with some operating as suicide bombers, and others as executioners like the one in the video.
The video is largely viewed as cowardly due to the execution of an innocent civilian who posed no threat, and the IS may well take stock of the general consensus that simply killing innocent people portrays their weakness, as they simply don’t have the courage, knowledge or organisational skills to actually get anywhere their real enemies. However, to many who are sympathetic to their viewpoint, the video could act as a recruitment advert and encourage more to travel and fight.
Should the British and US take full military action, which looks increasingly likely as each day passes, the Islamic State could find themselves in one of the shortest stand offs ever recorded in the Middle East. One thing is certain, this doesn’t look set to end well……